What is Project Planning and it’s Process

Guide to Project Planning

Project planning is made to systematize the work, administer the time frame of respective work to allow the process to move swiftly and hassle-free. It consists of a documented possibility and agenda of work with relations to objective, risk, deliverable, and preset targets. It is required to plan irrespective of the size of the project. 

Before we move to actual details, you must know about project planning tools/software that come in all different sizes and shapes depending on the company's need. Simple software can be limited to just scheduling tasks and assigning resources. 

More advanced software can help create estimates, track resource time, act as a document repository, and in-depth reports that can be used to communicate with stakeholders. It can be web-based, client-server based as well as desktop software. 

We need to have a plan in hand to execute it and bring it to success. Complete PMP certification and that will not just add a feather in your cap but will make you a hands-on project manager. 

This software is specialty software designed to provide the right way to plan, organize, and manage various project aspects. Previously project planning was done using excel. 

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6 Steps to Write a Good Project Plan - Project Planning Process 

Good project planning is crucial when it comes to handling management issues such as missed deadlines, cost overruns, etc. Although a laborious process, it is quite efficient when handling any project, big or small.

Step 1: Define the project schedule and scope.

Project scope is the part of project planning that involves determining and documenting a list of specific project goals, deliverables, features, functions, tasks, deadlines, and ultimately costs. 

Step 2: Identify risk assessment

By Identifying the hazards and risks involved with the particular project. Assessment and identifying control measures. Also recording the findings and implementing them.

Step 3: Team Organizing

Proper project team organization is one of the key constraints to project success. If the project has no productive and well-organized team, there’s an increased probability that this project will fail at the very beginning because initially, the team is unable to do the project in the right manner.

A team can be responsible for a variety of duties and responsibilities, depending on the project they’re involved in. Good project team organization entails the proper setting of team responsibilities and duties while considering specific goals and objectives of the project. 

Step 4: Project resource listing 

Project resources are the people, capital, and/or material goods required for the successful execution and completion of a project.  

A project manager that fails to allocate project resources is like a painter without a brush. That’s why estimating task resources is an integral step in project planning. 

Step 5: Work set up

Work process mapping is an important step to freeing up upper management's time to deal with more important issues such as how to grow and scale the business in the long term. When project managers can intrust work responsibilities to team members, whether they are new or seasoned, it is a sign that the members should know their work and role with utmost clarity. 

Step 6: Budget creation

To achieve the goals in a business’s strategic plan, one needs a detailed descriptive roadmap of the business plan that sets measures and indicators of performance.

Get used to righting a foolproof project plan by attending a PMP course.

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6 Key Benefits of Using Software for Project Planning

Regardless of the type of services a business offers, having the best software can make a significant impact.

The Key benefits of using online project Planning Software are:

• Generation of customized reports as per user's requirement from anywhere.
• Sharing project plans with team members and stakeholders from office premises or remotely with equal ease.
• Easier integration and collaboration with other team members instantly.
• Enhancement of delegating and monitoring progress, cost, and resource.
• Creation and scheduling modules and assigning tasks effortlessly. 
• Organizing and prioritizing tasks efficiently. 

Know about different project planning software from a PMP certification online course.

Overview of Project Planning 

1. Project Charter: This provides a set of a general work scope overview. Mainly consists of objectives, stakeholders, constraints, and goals.
2. Work Statement: Assigning the project’s deliverables, scope, milestones, etc.
3. Work breakdown structure: This process involves breaking down the execution plan into various "modules" interlinked with other processes.
4. Project Plan: To document various process plans in consideration of the scope, risk, quality, deadlines, and change of any events.

Project Phases while Project Planning 

While creating modules, we break down complex tasks into various small tasks to make them more manageable. The PMI in its PMBOK, have identified the following 5 phases of a project:

Phase 1: Initiation

The project initiation phase is the first phase within the project management life cycle. A goal and objective are created to define the problem or opportunity in detail and identify a preferred solution for implementation. 

Phase 2: Planning

Project planning is the process of establishing the scope and defining the objectives and steps to attain them. The output of the project planning process is a project management plan.

In this second phase, work process modules along with work methodologies are created. It is purely based on output-oriented.

Phase 3: Execution

The project execution phase is often the longest and most complex stage in the project life cycle. It generally starts with numerous meetings, status reports, and ends with a productivity assessment.

Phase 4: Monitoring & Controlling

With the help of various monitoring tools and progress reports, this phase works side by side with the execution phase to achieve set deadlines.

Phase 5: Closure

We consider the closure of a project when handover is done formally. There will be a review of all contracts and documentation with relation to the project execution and the aftermath.

Also Read: Fast Tracking in Project Management

Final Takeaway

A project manager has a larger role and planning is the first step to make deliverables possible. After getting an idea about what is project planning? Now it’s time to jump into action. A PMP certification training will mold you to become an efficient PM. Enroll today for a bright future.